Karoline Leavitt is leaving the White House press secretary job and returning to MAGA Inc., making her departure the latest entry in Donald Trump White House staff departures. She said on Friday that the Myrtle Beach rally trip would be her last day in the role, and she will later join Trump for the Republican Convention in September.
Leavitt told reporters aboard Air Force One, "You guys will still see me all the time," as she outlined the move back to Trump’s super PAC. Trump said earlier this week that she will be "one of my top outside advisors, and an influential voice within the Republican Party."
Leavitt and MAGA Inc.
Leavitt had worked as the spokesperson for MAGA Inc. before joining the Trump campaign. Her return puts her back in outside political work rather than the White House briefing operation she has been leading.
Last month, Politico reported that MAGA Inc. had a war chest of $350M. The size of that account gives Leavitt a role in an operation built to spend far beyond the daily press duties she leaves behind.
White House briefing change
Leavitt indicated when she announced her departure that her tenure would end with the month of August. No successor has been named, so the White House press operation now faces a gap at the podium after her final trip.
During her maternity leave, Vice President JD Vance, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent led the briefings. Leavitt wrote on X that after returning to the White House after the birth of her daughter, she felt she could not be the best mom her two young children deserve while giving the job the constant time, energy and attention it required.
That makes her return to MAGA Inc. more than a personnel shift. It sends one of Trump’s visible communicators back into the campaign apparatus while the White House still has not named the person who will replace her.
